Current Treatment

Update 10-19-24

I am now post-treatment and am cancer free! I will continue to have checkups with my oncologist every 4 months for the foreseeable future. I'll also have echocardiograms to check on my heart health at those same regular intervals because the medications I was on can damage the heart. I have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer because of my PALB2 gene mutation, so at 50 I'll begin periodic screening at MD Anderson to watch for signs of pancreatic cancer. 

Update 2-5-24

I've finished chemo now and have had my double mastectomy.  My results from chemo were the best possible: no live cancer cells left in my tumor.  So amazing! God really came through, heard all of your prayers for my healing!  It's been about 7 weeks since my DMX and I've healed nicely.  I still have a bit of a limit to my range of motion because of scar tissue developing in my chest, and the tissue expanders that have been inserted to get my skin ready for my reconstruction are a bit uncomfortable, but it's not limiting any of my normal activities. I'm not able to sleep in my favorite sleeping position, which is partly on my side and partly on my stomach. This can interrupt my sleep a bit because I naturally roll that way but it's painful so I wake up. 

My reconstruction will be on June 7 and I'm planning to have a DIEP flap.  You can read up on that here.

I still visit MD Anderson every 3 weeks for HER2 cancer targeted therapy.  Two medications are infused through my port that are meant to find any remaining HER2 cancer cells that may have found their way into my bloodstream. HER2 therapy also trains your immune system to find cancer cells and attack them.  I do have some side effects from this therapy, which I'm a little disappointed by (many patients have no side effects from these at all).  I feel better now than I did while I was on chemo though, so for that, I am thankful.

Update: 9-16-23

I've had some obstacles thrown in the way that have slowed down my treatment.  On 8-25 I was admitted to the hospital for a staph infection that had traveled to my bloodstream.  The infection came from my port.  The port was removed and I was discharged from the hospital a week later, on 9-1, with a picc line to administer IV antibiotics at home through 9-25.  My doctors wouldn't sign off on chem for two Fridays in a row, for fear of dropping my WBC count and reducing my ability to fight the infection.  I was finally cleared for chemo again on 9-8.

At that second chem treatment, I had an anaphylactic reaction to my chemo less than 5 minutes after it began to drip.  The reaction was so severe that I stopped breathing, lost consciousness and my HR was at 20 bpm for a couple of minutes.  I was admitted to the hospital overnight to be monitored and assessed.  My doctors feared I had had a heart attack, but my enzyme tests all came back clear.

My chemo was switched from Taxol to Abraxane on 9-15.  I was VERY apprehensive going into my 9-15 treatment.  The taxane family of chemotherapy drugs are used on HER2+ cancers.  My oncologist was hopeful that I wouldn't react to Abraxane like I did Taxol because Abraxane is suspended in a protein rather than a solvent.  She suspected I had reacted to the solvent.  On 9-15 I did start to react to the Abraxane.  They slowed the rate of the drip by 75% of what is normally given, and that (along with extra Benadryl) controlled the reaction.  I was able to receive my full treatment, but it took 4 hours rather than the 1 hour it takes other patients because of the slow drip.

If things had gone to schedule, I would have just finished my 5th treatment of 12.  Instead, I've only finished two.  This is concerning to me and my team of doctors, because the cancer has had the chance to grow in these weeks.  I will most likely be ordered an ultrasound to be sure my tumor hasn't grown or been able to move to my lymph nodes.  If the 9-15 treatment hadn't have been successful, I would have been sent to surgery within a few weeks.  Abraxane was the last resort.  So, please be in prayer that my body will continue to tolerate the Abraxane.  

Because of the slow drip I have to receive, my short treatments will now last 5 hours rather than 2, and my long treatments will last 8-9 rather than 5.  This is a huge change, but I'm looking at it as a way God is forcing me to slow down, rest and heal.  

I will most likely have my double mastectomy around Christmas, about a month later than originally thought due to the infection and allergic reaction.

Previous Treatment Plan:

On 8-1-23, my team of doctors at MD Anderson developed a treatment plan for me.  On August 18 I will begin chemo.  I'll have chemo for 4.5 months, will take a 4 week break, and then will have a double mastectomy in January.  After the surgery, my breasts will be examined to find any smaller tumors that may have been missed.  All of the tumors will be typed at that point to be sure no other form of cancer besides ER+/PR+ and HER2+ is present.  At that time, they will also determine if the chemo has been fully successful at killing the cancer cells in the tumors.  If there is a "complete response," I will remain on what is called "cancer targeted therapy" through next August (to total one year).  This is not chemo, but rather a targeted therapy that targets and kills HER2 cancer cells by targeting the protein they produce.  If there has NOT been a "complete response," meaning the tumors in the breast weren't as affected by the chemo as they would have liked, I will remain on the HER2 blockers and will undergo another 10 months of chemo.  

I plan to do my reconstruction in the summer of 2024 so I don't have to miss time in the school year with my students twice for surgery.